Murder, he wrote :The riddle of the chinese jester
by Kay ti
Summary: The host club uncovers a shocking link among the deceased ballerina, the emerald tiara and the death of a Hitachin twin. "The haunting empty eye-sockets lingered in her mind."...
1. The death of a hitachin brother

**Murder, he wrote**** : The riddle of the chinese jester.**

**A/N: ****URGHHHHH! I am sooooo sorry I made a mistake! This chpt has already been edited. Thanks for pointing it out! It's Hikaru's body in the water.**

**Chapter 1: The murder of a Hitachin brother.**

It was yet another glorious day in Ouran High. Haruhi stood by the window of Music Room three and marveled at the incredibility of spring. Changes happen. Life goes on. _The beauty of the dying leaves turn into wondrous colors that paint the world around us in their death_, she mulled. _Such a glorious picture they create if only for a short time._ It was such irony that for once, death brought joy.

The petite girl in a men's suit paid no attention to her surroundings and ignored the undiluted laughter erupting from the bevy of boys near her. Too engrossed in the scenery, Haruhi failed to duck and ended up with an unnecessary lump on her forehead.

Seconds later, the boys surrounded an uncomfortable Haruhi and stared intently at her swelling bump. It was now an ugly shade of blue.

"Urghhhh! Senior, you're hurting me." Groaned Haruhi as Tamaki pressed a handmade ice pouch, made out of ice in a wrapped up handkerchief, hard onto her bump.

"Sorry!" He went all teary again, as he dabbled with extra precaution. "Let me kiss it to make you feel better."

"Please Senior, no!" Her brow knitted in horror. Having to be in a club with a kissing maniac, as a president was too much.

Kyoya intervened in the over-zealous crowd. "I'm taking you to the clinic." And he snapped his Macbook with a resolute shut.

"It's getting late" agreed Mori, a glance to his watch.

"Haru, you can have my bunny." Squealed Hani happily, in between mouthful of cakes.

"Err… thanks senior Hani." She looked hesitantly at the pink bunny with over-sized flopping ears and decided that it wouldn't be much of a help.

The evening sky was now darkening and the leaves of autumn sporting a dull sliver shine from the newly rising moon.

"No way, Daddy will bring her to see Mr Doctor."

"…besides, your chauffeur isn't here yet."

"Shaddup. The daddy gets her" huffed Tamaki, waving the ice pouch madly in the air and a few drops of water rained down.

The lucid argument was getting on Haruhi's nerves.

"Oi, you guys stop quarrelling. Where are the twins, anyway?"

Her question was answered immediately.

"Hikaru's missing!" cried Kaoru as he burst through the doors of the room panting madly. He clutched onto a table for support and tried to catch his breath.

Mori ran forward and placed a reassuring hand on the agitated boy. "Relax, maybe he went home first?" There was always this very invigorating air around Mori which would even calm the most aggressive oxen alive. And it was hard to get cross with him.

"No! Our chauffeur is still on his way. I-I-" he wheezed, eyes darting around in a lunatic fashion. "He's still in school, I'm certain!"

"Shall I go and inform the security head to organize a search party for Hikaru?" suggested Haruhi.

Kyoya, the wise man of the club shook his head "No can do. It's already 8pm. All of the staffs and most of the guards would have already left."

"Alright host club! Let's spilt up and look for Kaoru." Tamaki clapped his hands and commanded in a distinctly masculine voice.

"Hurray!" cried a hardly serious Hani. Once again, the host was engaged in yet another round of 'fun-filled' adventure.

And so, each of them armed with a torchlight and an iphone went on separate ways. Mori and Haruhi tackling the South Wing of the campus, Kaoru and Hani covering the East Wing and Tamaki and Kyoya doing the remaining wings.

The flashing lights from the flickering torch lights shone at every corner. Mori's and Haruhi's throat were hoarse from shouting Hikaru's name so much. After an hour of searching to no avail, Haruhi collapsed on the side of the garden impression and wrung her hands nervously.

She looked up at a calm Mori with huge luscious eyes, frowning with concern. "I really hope that Kaoru is safe."

He smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately. "I'm sure he'll be. Maybe one of them has found him. Let's go and meet the rest, shall we?"

The dried up leaves, scattered all over the ground next to their parent tree, crackled crisply as they made their way back. A few metre away, the willow tree was moaning it's sorrowful song carried away by the slight breeze. Suddenly, Haruhi's head jerk back and she turned sharply, expecting to see someone. She could feel a pair of eyes following them. It was so keen that it was as if a laser burning a hole in her back.

"Senior, I've got a distinct feeling that someone is following us." She slipped a hand into Mori's palm, in return he squeezed it.

"There's no one here, but us."

"Well, maybe I'm just dreaming."

Haruhi glanced around one more time and this time her eyes met the icy cold eyes of a petite hazel-eyed blonde with sinewy legs that once propelled her across the stage in an amateur production of a ballet recital. The figure was perched on top of the clock tower. The ballerina cocked her head to a side and in the moonlight, Haruhi could the skin of the pretty face erode into a grayish skull. The skeleton- framed ballerina blew her a kiss and a light shower of glitter littered the grass.

Haruhi screamed.

"Mori!" She tugged at his sleeve.

"What?"

"There's a ballerina on top of the clock tower!"

"Eh?" Mori scanned the tower and surroundings. "No, I don't see anyone."

"She was there… Oh, the glitter!!" Haruhi hurriedly gestured across the grassy patch. "Here!!! Huh? It was there just now…"

"I'm sure it's just your imagination," he repeated heartening. "Come on, I'll give you a piggy back"

Still shaking, she climbed into the lean muscular back of her senior. All the way back, she was thinking about the sight. She firmly disagreed with Mori; it wasn't her imagination. Not in the least bit. The haunting empty eye-sockets lingered in her mind.

Somewhere in the west wing, Tamaki was searching for Hikaru as well. To calm his nerves, he whistled a pleasant tune in between calls. The lights in the corridor were dimly lilted, casting yellow tinctures on the portraits hung adjacent to their neighbors on the walls. His shoes made high-pitched squeaky sounds upon contact with the newly waxed floors. Creaking sounds rose from the desks complemented his hesitant yelling. Tamaki couldn't imagine why the reason for those horribly creaking desks; they were replaced with new ones each year.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when the familiar ring tone blared out and vibrated steadily in his pocket. A close up of a pair of glasses decorated the screen. He answers it at once. "Kyoyaaa! I wish we had done the searching together." Tamaki complained in a half-swallowed whine of pain and frustration. His voice dropped to a whisper. "There are goblins lurking in school, you know."

"I assume Kaoru isn't in the west wing then" Tamaki could imagine his friend smoothing out his blazer as he spoke in a crisp tone.

"Wait… I have one more classroom to cover." And he pushed open the mahogany doors of 1-A. There was a little scribble by the right side, but he did not take much notice. Scanning, the classroom with not a soul in sight, he spoke again "No, he's not here either… eh is it raining?"

A drop of liquid plopped on the bridge of Tamaki's nose and dripped to the corner of his mouth. Instinctly, he stuck out his tongue and licked a bit of it. It had a familiar iodine taste to it. A wave of realization washed through him. With much horror, he looked up only to see the remnants of a badly severed hand swinging to-and-fro from the ceiling, tied by only a mere cord. Again, more crimson blood rained down and Tamaki's face was splattered scarlet. It was like a copy of the scene of the bloody lavatory from Silent Hill.

He gave an odd, shuddering gasp, and dropped the phone, as though he had been doused with icy water, followed by a blood-curling scream he never knew he was capable of doing.

"Tamaki? Tamaki? Hello?" From the other side of the line, Kyoya said with equal calmness. Finally, with no answer from Tamaki he hung up. "Stupid boy."

Meanwhile, the rest of the host club gathered in front of the school trying to calm the boy with messy amber hair, clawing at Hani's vest in hysterical, down. Their chauffeurs were waiting by the gate patiently.

Kyoya was saying "I believe nothing would happen to Kaoru. Can you please get a grip on yourself!" It wasn't a request but more like a command made in irritation.

"Shush! Where's senior Tamaki?" Haruhi tugged at Kyoya's sleeve. Somehow she was always the one to express concern.

"He's probably lost somewhere in school. My call got cut off abruptly a while ago. "

Mori said determinedly "I'll go get him."

After a few minutes, a pale-faced Mori with the faintest sheer of perspiration on his forehead arrived carrying a limp Tamaki with a blood encrusted face on his back. "There's a bloody hand in classroom 1-A, which is where I found Tamaki."

Stares were transfixed in him. No one spoke a word until Kyoya said expressionlessly "Oh boy, we better call the police."

A shout came from one of the chauffeurs. "There's a body here!"

The rest of them came racing over to the banks of the river by the school. Even Mori hastily dumped his motionless president onto the ground and joined the small excited crowd.

The impact of hitting the hard cement woke him up. Tamaki sat up straight and murmured "Zhao Dou Nei." His eyes glassy as he repeated it over and over again.

Sheer horror flooded their faces as they watched the object bobbing against the currents. They recognized the body in an instant. For the first time in months, Kyoya panicked.

Floating in the clear waters and amidst the wisps of autumn air was a boy with his matted ash hair spread around like a lion's mane in Ouran High uniform. There was a deep violet gash next to the school badge, no longer bleeding though. Worse of all, his eyes were wide-open in petrified fear like he was trying to convey a message to those who had found him.

**Author's note: **

**Inspired by "Boys over flowers" and my ex-love for Nancy Drew, I've decided to write a mystery (with bits of supernatural) and the host club acting as **Jessica Fletcher**. I have a lot of brillopad-worthly ideas for this story! There will be a twist in chpt 3.**

**PS: The emerald tiara part is yet to be introduced.**

**PSS: Those Asian, you may be able to guess what Tamaki was muttering. It will be revealed later, in a form of a riddle-like poem… So all I'm saying is that the mystery does not end in Japan. : )**

Anyway, thanks for reading my story!


	2. The moan of the fairies

**Chapter 2: ****The moan of the fairies.**

"Hika!" Kaoru gasped, before slumping into the welcoming trunk of the oak tree by the river. His mouth gaping, open then close, open and shut like a fish out of the water. His heart almost stopped.

The police arrived shortly, with their flashy cars, wailing sirens and armed with revolvers. After brief interrogations with the club members, collection of evidences and a thorough search of the school they left. The body and hand was sent away in an ambulance. The body was pronounced dead much to the horror of the crowd.

Soon, the whole gang crowded around the small corridor of the mortuary, Mr Hitachin was there as well. He was cradling a sobbing Kaoru. Kaoru couldn't accept the fact that his brother had been brutally murder. "It's my fault" he had said earlier in a small voice, "I didn't look after him well, that's why he was hurt."

Instantly, five voices had yelled "no!" in unison.

"You guys don't have to comfort me. It's really my fault. My negligence to take care of H—hik-, him properly. I left his side for a whole hour!" Kaoru couldn't bring himself to speak his brother's name. The numb stabbing pain in his heart returned.

"That's true but it should be the other way, shouldn't it?"

The rest of them swiveled their heads and stared daggers at Kyoya. Tamaki hissed "Would it kill you to show some empathy?" Then, they stared at Tamaki. He had never talk back, much less been rude to Kyoya before. Today was really an unusual day.

"No, what I meant is that normally the other sibling looks out the younger one."

At that point of the word "brother" being mentioned so coldly, Kaoru grew all teary again and murmured "Of course, me being older takes charge."

"Huh?" They diverted their attention to the boy who launched in another fresh fit of wails.

"Did you say something Kao?"

"Boo-hoo hoo. I'm a bad brother." He cried again, biting the ends of the rough blanket of a dirty brown color that was used in fire fighting situations.

Then Haruhi had put her arms around him and cooed a lullaby. She had assumed that A fierce "Shhh…." From her stopped the club from asking any other questions.

Back in the hospital, all of a sudden, Hani spoke up from a tear-stained Usa-chan. "Why isn't Mrs Hitachin here yet?" He wasn't sure if it was fine to ask this, but he did so anyway.

Mr Hitachin sighed "She's in New York for her bi-annual fashion shoot." He tightened his grip on his son's hunched back. "I haven't informed her yet though. This shoot is very important to her and her career depends on it. Will do so after the fashion festival is over."

The others thought bitterly, _so she was those types of mothers who favored work over family_.

"Please keep this from her." The sorrow in his eyes was undeniable, no longer having the familiar twinkle they used to look forward to, every time they came to the Hitachin's mansion to visit. "It's hard for parents to lose a son, I hoping you will understand that. To hear about Hikaru's death would mean the end of the world for her.

"Ahh…"They nodded knowingly and mentally did pinky swears.

As usual Tamaki stepped out and grasped Mr Hitachin's shoulder firmly. "I understand how it is like for a father to lose his child. Fear not, we, the host club will maintain this sworn secret!" he said in an annoying extravagant fashion and wiped a lone tear away.

Almost at once, the doctor in a smart white suit trotted briskly towards them, holding the lab report. His kind face was crowned by a thick shock of grey hair.

"Family members of the deceased?" he looked around.

"I'm his father."

The doctor opened his file "After conducting various analytical tests on it, we have discovered that the DNA for the body and hand does not match. There are possibilities that the hand belongs to your son and the lookalike body is of someone else's and vice versa. Now, we need one family member to do some DNA extracting."

"I'll do it" Mr Hitachin volunteered and followed the doctor down the corridor. He turned "Please take care of Kaoru whilst I'm gone". A puzzled look stretched across his face. "You said that Hikaru was missing?"

Mori nodded. "Yes. He left the room since 5pm yesterday and we haven't seen him since then."

And they stood in silence, trying to make themselves believe that everything would be fine soon. They had no idea what to say to Kaoru . They wanted to go along with him and his self-blaming ways but deep down inside, they knew it had to stop. So each of them busied themselves by showing new-found love for cracks in the walls or being fascinated with the tiles on the floor, in the place with its queer smell of alcohol wipes and antiseptic and the enveloping pong of death. Hospitals were deceptive places. Despite their attempts to decorate the place with posters of smiling children on the laps of equally beaming doctors, fresh flowers of all cheery colors, overweight nurses, being large resemblances to Martha Steward in tight smocks ,to gull patients to think that Mrs Field was visiting and candy machines at every corner, the mere presence of dull pink-washed walls, and dreaded anticipation seemed to overpower feeble attempts.

-------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------

School resumed as per normal the following day, earning groans from the host club. Six hours of lessons were no joke seeing that each of them barely slept for three hours. Also, Haruhi was bombarded with "Where are Hikaru and Kaoru?" questions since she stepped into classroom 1-A, she was certain she would bitch-slap the next person who asked her that. By the time she reached Music Room 3, her face was already contorted, as if teetering between anger and fatigue. She was glad Tamaki had decided that club activities were cancelled till further notice. She pushed the heavy doors open only to see her seniors slouching in fluffy couches, eating fancy cake and laughing heartily.

"What the hell?! Why are you guys having fun when one of our members was murdered last night?" Haruhi seethed, watching slack-jaw at the mini-party. She threw her books down, the infuriated tinge in her spread like wildfire. "Hello? Don't you even care?"

The shock alarm quivered the merry-making. They had never seen Haruhi so mad before.

"Haru, we-" Hani's words were interrupted by Kyoya.

"Let her rant" he said.

"Last night all of you were sniffling away in despair and acting all sorry for the twins, and" she blinked back tears furiously. "and now, having the time of your life. Pretending that everything is okay, when it bloody isn't!"

Haruhi marched to Tamaki and slapped him straight. All the while glaring at him with eyes misty with emotion. The china plate slipped from his hands and landed with a chiming crash, littering the floor with porcelain bits. "You," she started, she was on a row and wouldn't stop " Besotted libertine. You are the president and yet you don't even give a damn about your club members. Who was the one who was constantly nagging on the importance of 'Team spirit'?"

"But, Haruhi…" Tamaki looked like he was going to cry, teeth chattering from the consternation. He had always thought that heartbreaking was yet another silly expression, but he could fell his heart breaking into pieces like his broken plate. "Mummy, our daughter's getting violent! She needs a spanking!"

Then she piqued at a wide-eyed Mori. "You…"

With a roll of the eye, Kyoya stood up and grab Haruhi's shoulder so that she spurn around and faced him. He looked at her squarely in the eye. "Haruhi, stop venting your anger on them. Hikaru's not dead. The body doesn't belong to him. The report showed that major plastic surgery was done to the body of a kidnapped commoner to make it resemble one of the Hitachin twins. In other words, he's alive."

"Oh… that explains the celebration." With a sheepish smile, Haruhi bowed her lowest in apology. Mingled relief skittered through her. "So sorry seniors! Please accept Haruhi's humblest apology." Waves of embarrassment washed through her. "I had a bad day."

Mori smiled like a Chester cat. "If I were in your position, I would be that mad too."

"But, Tama's not taking it too well." Hani mentioned.

_What a bother_, Haruhi threw a glance at the chairman's son, now weeping in a fetal position by the corner. He was cramming several pocky sticks into his mouth and breaking them into bits with his front teeth.

"Senior, I'm sorry. Look, I'll bring chocolates and toffees for you tomorrow alrighty?"

His eyes were still red and eyelashes glittering with beads of teardrops. "And a kiss for my swollen cheek too." He pouted, lower lip quivering.

She glared at him fiercely. "You're pushing it."

"Fill me up" A tired sigh slipped out of Haruhi's mouth. She felt like she had spent her entire morning in a bus, her head was dizzy from the ride.

Kyoya pulled a dangling string and a handmade glossy poster rolled out. He pulled out a pointer. "so," he began, "these are the clues we've got. Firstly, the latest reported showed that the DNA cells of the unknown hand matched Mr Hitachin's but not the body. So, I have a hunch that he's been kidnapped."

The poster displayed four pictures, a hand with long nails, a ballerina posed on a clock, a sumo wrestler and a sword like the one on her Hamlet text. "I've heard from Senior Mori that you've seen an apparition? I'm not sure how it is relevant to the case yet, but let's treat it as a clue."

The pointer moved to the large sumo. Haruhi cocked her head to a side "Err, Senior Kyoya ,what is Mr Sumo for?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yesterday, our dear friend, the one who fainted on sight of blood, saw these 3 words : Zhao dou nei/ 找到你inscribed on the door of 1-A."

A small whiny voice rose from the corner, but was quickly dismissed by the rest "Kyoya, you were scared too! You don't have to be so sarkky about it."

"Eh, so he did?"

"Haruhi, please don't interrupt. It's Cantonese for 'Found you'. Can someone tell me, what is Japanese for 'Found you'?" He scratched the tiles with the heel of his shoe, while Haruhi tried to digest the information.

"Mitsuketa!" cried Hani joyfully.

"By the way, how did Senior Tama read the Chinese characters?" Haruhi pursed her lips together in an oval shape and leaned back in her chair.

"I like period hong kong dramas a lot." Tamaki was desperate for some attention and his flapping arms were a sign of withdrawal symptom from the deficit of attention.

"shhh…" The boys hissed back.

"Thank you. Apparently, there is an top-ranked sumo wrestler nicknamed Mitsuketa, back in the 1950s when he was popular in Gion. The nickname came about when he kept shouting "Found you' to his opponents in the ring. He keeps a collection of swords, seeing that his ancestors were heads of ninja clans. And I do suspect that one of the swords was used to kill that peasant boy. Haruhi, please ask intelligent questions in the future."

Mori got up from his chair and patted Hani's head. "The wound in the supposed Hikaru was made from a slim ancient sword that has a curve tip. There is only one of this made on earth. The Izoyoi is passed down from a series of bloodshed and angst history line. The legend goes that a silver-haired shinobi, from Echigoya once possessed this sword and killed a demon vampire with it."

"I see, then what is the image with the long fingernails for? Hikaru always keeps his nails short." Haruhi pointed out and swallowed. She hoped that it was clever enough.

Kyoya tapped Hani's fingers impatiently with the offending pointer and said "Oh, it's to remind us that a bit of dark cloth was found in his fingernail. He must have struggled. Anyway, this," He unclipped the A2 sized shiny paper and waved it like it was a piece of soiled tissue. " is made by our dearest president. The confusing pictures are prepared by him."

"UWahhhhh! I should get credit for that!"

"Let's not play the blame game here." Mori faced the direction of two of them.

"And since we can't place our trust on incompetent policemen, we have to solve the mystery ourselves."

Tamaki's head jerked back, he climbed on a chair, lifted his hand exuberantly and exclaimed "For the sake for Hikaru and our close-knitted family, we have to find the murderer and also piece this puzzle together!"

"Talk about quick recovery" The girl with the pixie hair cute narrowed her eyes and drooped her shoulders forward.

And so, once again the host club remained united and went to the crime scene to comb for scraps of evidence.

It had rained a while earlier and leaves were lying in wet ragged patches upon the muddy ground. The nearby creek was visible through the trees, sparkling in the thin autumn sunlight, making music as it went along its way.

"Senior, how did you all figure out all these leads?" Haruhi asked, as they trudged along the winding path. The birds were still chirping their sorrowful rendition of "Goodbye My Love".

After about fifteen minutes, they heard a shout.

"Yes! I've found something." Tamaki cried, stabbing the air with a fist like an athlete after a score. They rushed over immediately to the banks of the creek with eager faces.

He gestured at the pile at his feet with a triumphant grin. He wanted to prove to Haruhi that he could be an ace detective too. It was a shoddy brown mess of fur, which looked like poop next to his smart shiny shoes. The anxious look on their faces withered like a dying rose and disappointment took over.

"What?"

"Tama, it's the detached tail of a fox." Hani piped up.

"Oh…" It was his turn to be miffed. He turned to search somewhere else but his hair was caught on the lower branches of the birch tree. "Ouch, little help here!"

Kyoya pinched the bridge of his nose and helped his friend entangle the golden lock. _What a noob._

Suddenly, he gasped. The piece of dark cloth on the branch next to Tamaki caught his eyes. He rescued it at once and felt the texture by rolling it between two fingers. The fabric was similar to the dress his sister wore during her engagement. It was superior cloth.

"Help!" In haste, he had forgotten about Tamaki. Finally Mori came over to help. He threw a glance at Kyoya with concern. "Found something?"

Kyoya handed the scrap to Mori. "Here. I reckon that the assassin is about 1.8m tall or taller, he must have made a mad scramble through the woods and a bit of his costume tore. Thanks to Tamaki, we've gotten another lead."

In response to his comment, Tamaki dragged Haruhi to the trees, with Hani following them. "Did ya hear that? Kyoya said my presence is helping!" She smiled weakly and petted his arm lightly.

"We have to go to the Hitachin's residence now to find out the source of this cloth. Mrs Hitachin's studio and lab should be useful." decided Kyoya firmly.

The whole gang nodded and plodded in single file out of the dense woods. Haruhi paused for a moment, a strange sound coming from the heart of the woods, a distant moan. A chill reverberated down her back.

In terror, she grabbed the back of Kyoya's blazer. "Senior, do you hear something?"

He stopped walking, cupped a hand over his ear and shook his head.

She pointed in the South direction and whispered "There". His eyes widened with clouds of turbulent.

The rest of them seemed to have heard the soft whimpering that was increasingly growing louder. The evening autumn air was icy and felt like glass. The mouths of the members of the host club were drawn into awkward circles. There was a moan again, not like a cat sound exactly. Perhaps it was another animal that needed help. But this particular moan sounded humane, like a deep aching sorrow being erupted. They spotted a shadow pressed against a tree trunk- big and dark.

"Ichi, n-ni -ni, san, shi, go…" Tamaki stammered.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kyoya hissed after a long breath.

He whispered back "Counting will calm your nerves." And continued "Roku, nana, hachi, kyu"

"Shhh!" Haruhi gave him a menacing stare which made him shut up.

The moaning intensified and the shadow straighten out and moved towards them.

All of them began to edge nervously back along the pathway, retracing their steps as fast as they can.

A/N: Amy is the name of the twin's mother, which I personally gave. didn't give her a name.

Gawwwwwk! At this rate I think I'll have to write 20 chpts! In other words, I'll practically be doing a novel!

Please continue to read! I promise to make things more exciting!

Also, I am thinking of insert a tad of romance inside, except I can't decide who gets Haru. Hani is out of the question though!

And that day I was jogging and smelling eeky, you know perspiration and all that, and this thought flew into my head. "What do Ouran host club guys smell like?"

What a bizzare question! Hahaha… I think they would smell of men's chanel cologne and pine cones. A pleasant scent that is refreshingly delicious and when they lean close to you, you feel like grabbing their collars and sniffing the neck heavily; yes, like a dog.


End file.
